AUTHOR'S NOTE – I don't know what to say. I just can't believe it's been more than one year since I last updated this story! I'm sure you're really disappointed and mad at me and you won't believe me when I say I'm really sorry. And I wouldn't be surprised if you abandoned me and my story now. But the past year had been terrible for me. First, I had my heart broken. I've been pretty depressed for almost half a year! I'm really glad I've gotten over it, but then, I had so much to do for university, one report after another to write! Writing so many reports for university simply destroyed almost all the inspiration I had for my fanfic! But only almost! I've handed in my last report (for now), so now I try getting back into this story. I really hope I get to finish it before the end of the year!
Okay, enough talk. Hope you'll still bear with me. First, a little summary of what happened so far until chapter 9, and then, straight to chapter 10. Enjoy. :)
PREVIOUSLY ON "NIVIO: THE CUBHOOD OF LONER" – Nivio, who had been separated from both real his parents (Roho and Kinja) and his foster parents (two monkeys named Jamili and Chuki), managed to escape from an eerie leopard clan. He was taken downstream a river, until he was finally found by a cheetah called Nakemi and her son Kuoni. He had caught a terrible cold in the water, but the two cheetahs took him in. After about one week, Nivio started feeling better and he got to like the place the cheetahs lived in. Since Nivio couldn't remember his own name, he thought of a name himself: Loner. One day, Nakemi, who always wondered about Nivio's origin, tells him about the Pridelands. There she had lived once, under the rule of the kind Lion King Mufasa. She and her clan had left when Scar had claimed the throne, but she and Kuoni always wanted to return some day…
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Chapter Ten: A New DisruptionNivio and Kuoni could hardly get enough of Nakemi's stories about the Pridelands. From the day when she first mentioned them, they always wanted to hear more. So, Nakemi suggested to tell them a little bit every day at sunset before they had to go to sleep. When the sun was climbing lower towards the horizon and the little savannah was touched by the last rays of its golden light, Nivio and Kuoni would sit together, listening to Nakemi's stories with interest and excitement.
Nakemi told them all the memories she had of the time when she lived in the Pridelands as a cub. She tried to describe the incredible vastness and beauty of the land she once called home as accurately as she could. She would often tell them about the various ceremonies that were celebrated in the Pridelands. And she told them of the many good things King Mufasa had accomplished in his Kingdom. Some of the events she spoke of had even happened before she was born, but she knew about them, because her parents had told her.
When the sun had disappeared and the sky began to turn dark, Nakemi usually finished her sentence, then sighed and said: "Alright, kids, that's all for today. It's time to go to sleep now."
To that, the two cubs usually reacted with pouting and protesting: "Aww, but we wanna hear more!"
"Please, Mom," Kuoni would beg. "Can't you tell us some more?"
But Nakemi would shake her head at that and say: "No, it's enough for now. I'll tell you more tomorrow night."
"I can hardly wait," Nivio would then say excitedly, nudging Kuoni.
At that, Nakemi would stand up and say: "Then let's go to sleep now. Then tomorrow will come sooner."
While getting up and following her, Kuoni would always ask: "But Mom? Can't we finally go to the Pridelands tomorrow? Now that you told us so much about them."
Then, Nakemi would turn around again and answer in a calm voice: "Kuoni, the Pridelands are far away from here. It would take us days to reach them. You two are still too young for such a long journey. We can go there when the two of you have passed your hunting tests."
"When will that be?" Kuoni would ask impatiently.
Nakemi would chuckle and say: "Time goes by fast. Just be patient. Okay?"
At that, both Kuoni and Nivio would nod and follow her to their sleeping spot.
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And the days and weeks went by very fast indeed. Soon, Nakemi had shared all the memories she had of the Pridelands, even the sad and dark ones of the time when Scar took over the throne and Nakemi's clan decided to leave. Nakemi began to tell them of their journeys as well, but Nivio and Kuoni preferred to hear the stories of the Pridelands they already knew again.
And as time went by, both Kuoni and Nivio had grown quite a lot. They both had passed the middle of their cubhood now, and there was a nice tuft of dark brown fur growing on Nivio's forehead already. Kuoni was quite fascinated by Nivio's little mane, and maybe even a little jealous. He had never seen a lion with a fully grown mane before in his young life, that was the reason why the cheetah cub was pretty excited about watching Nivio's mane fur grow.
As they listened to Nakemi's stories of the Pridelands over and over, Nivio and Kuoni got more and more excited about visiting these fascinating lands some day. But each time they tried to persuade Nakemi to set out for the Pridelands, she insisted that they would not go there before the two cubs would have passed their hunting tests. Almost every day, Nakemi gave them hunting lessons, and every time the two of them were more eager to improve their skills. Even Nivio, who still was not that good in applying the cheetah's hunting methods, tried his best to get better. By instinct, he once tried to further approach his prey before running at it – and he found out that he was more likely to succeed that way.
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Then, the day finally came when Nakemi decided it was about time to test Kuoni's and Nivio's hunting skills. They had been training for several months by now and grown into pretty strong and agile cubs. Actually, in the past two weeks, every single hunt had been successful for the two cubs.
When Nakemi told them that they were going to have their tests that morning, Kuoni and Nivio were totally thrilled. After they had finally calmed down a bit, Nakemi explained them the exact course of their hunting tests. She also told them that this would only be the first out of three tests for them. The second one would take place when they had reached adolescence, and the third one, of course, when they were young adults. Kuoni was the first to have his skills tested.
"Good luck," Nivio said as Kuoni was about to go.
"Luck? Ha! I don't need luck!" The cheetah cub replied. "I'll be back with the biggest prey in no time. Just watch me!"
Nivio just grinned as Kuoni left to search for a prey. Nakemi and Nivio quietly followed quite some distance behind him. Kuoni was way more excited than he would admit, as this was the first time he had to look for a prey himself. During their training lessons, Nakemi usually picked out the prey, telling them the criteria for doing so. This time, he had to do it all by himself. He decelerated his pace and lowered his position as he caught the sight of a rabbit, quite a long distance away. It was just sitting there in the open field, eating grass, apparently without any kind of protection or hiding place nearby. The perfect prey!
"Looks like he found himself a prey…" Nakemi whispered into Nivio's ear who watched Kuoni, trembling with excitement.
At that moment, Kuoni dashed out of the tall grass, running towards the rabbit at full speed. Noticing him, the rabbit ran for its life. But Kuoni, being in a very good condition, covered the long distance within an incredibly short time, even following the rabbit's winding trail. He caught up with the rabbit and easily took it down.
When he returned, his head held up high, carrying the kill in his mouth, Nivio stared at him in awe. Kuoni proudly put down the dead rabbit in front of them, and Nakemi exclaimed: "Kuoni, that was perfect! I'm so proud of you!"
Kuoni then nudged Nivio and said: "It's your turn now, Loner." And with a giggle, he added: "Good luck."
Suddenly, Nivio's excitement turned into doubt. That rabbit was indeed the biggest prey Kuoni had ever caught until then. It was about half as big as he was himself. Somehow, he felt like he had to take down a prey now that was at least that size, just to impress Kuoni the way he had been impressed. But could he succeed at that? His legs became wobbly at the thought.
"Well now, Loner," Nakemi said. "Are you ready?"
Nivio's heart was racing. He gulped and asked: "Can I… I mean, I can use my own technique, right?"
"Of course, you can," Nakemi answered. "You've been very successful with it."
"You can make it, Loner," Kuoni finally reassured him.
That made Nivio feel a little more at ease. He was still excited, yes, but his doubts were disappearing again. He took a deep breath and left to search for a prey. Again, Nakemi slowly followed quite a distance behind him, this time accompanied by her son Kuoni. Of course, it was an all new challenge for him as well to find a prey all on his own. But it couldn't be that hard, if Kuoni had succeeded at his first attempt. As he quietly crawled through the tall grass, he caught the scent of some field mice. Looking at the ground below him, he could also see their trail. Slowing down, he followed it.
Suddenly, he saw the group of field mice, only a pounce away. He ducked and watched them in awe. Never had he gotten that close to a prey before. He wondered why they didn't notice him, but then he figured that the wind was blowing in the direction he came from. That must have been the reason why he had caught their scent so easily as well. Now, it came to picking one of them. Thinking of Kuoni's catch again, he quickly decided to catch the biggest one.
But before he could pounce, the field mice started running to the right, squeaking in horror. Nivio was confused – did they smell him eventually? But he didn't notice the wind changing. The only thing he noticed was a distant scream: "No! Loner! Come back!"
It sounded like Nakemi! Nivio turned his head to see her running towards him. She had a terrified look on her face. When he turned around again, something approached him from the left. It was a strange scent he had never smelled before. He was unable to move, his whole body shaking with fear. Suddenly, a couple of growling faces appeared before him. Nivio gasped and stared in horror, as he was taken by the scruff.
Nakemi had grabbed Nivio in her mouth, hit the creatures with her claws, whirled around and ran back into the opposite direction. When she had almost reached the spot where Kuoni waited, she let go of Nivio and shouted at the two cubs: "Loner! Kuoni! Run!"
Kuoni snapped out of his shock and ran alongside his mother and Nivio, as fast as he could. "Mom!" he shouted, "What's wrong?"
"They were about to attack!"
"What were they?" Nivio asked, trying to keep up.
"Jackals," Nakemi replied. "I won't let them get you! Run to the river!"
Turning her head, she noticed that the jackals had sped up. They were drawing closer. She couldn't see how many they were in her hurry. But there were at least five of them when she first noticed them. How could she defend the two cubs and herself? They were certainly outnumbered.
Finally, the river was in sight. Nakemi led Kuoni and Nivio to the shore where they had once found Nivio. The jackals were following closely behind them. When they had reached the shore, Nivio and Kuoni tried to catch their breath again. Nakemi frantically looked at the approaching jackals, at the river, at the two cubs – then at the river again. When she spotted the dike in the river, she got an idea.
"Kuoni! Loner!" she shouted. "Cross the dike, run to the other side of the river! Now!"
"But Mom, what about you?" Kuoni squeaked.
"Run!" she cried.
Kuoni and Nivio did as she said. As soon as they had crossed the river, Nakemi took position in front of the dike, blocking the way for the jackals, facing them. There were now eight of them, growling at her, baring their teeth. Nivio and Kuoni gasped in shock at the sight.
Nakemi bared her teeth as well and snarled at the jackals: "What do you want?"
One of the jackals stepped forward and growled back at her: "This will be our territory now. And we will kill you now."
"Then fight me," she said. "But don't you dare hurt my cubs."
With that, she quickly whirled around, taking down the dike with two or three strikes. The river was uncrossable now. Kuoni and Nivio stared in horror as Nakemi glanced at them one last time and shouted: "Kuoni! Loner! Leave this place! Run to the South! To the Pridelands!"
Then she turned around, striking at two of the jackals that attacked her now.
"MOM!" Kuoni screamed, dashing forward, but Nivio stopped him. Suddenly, one of the jackals attempted to jump over the river. He almost made it to the other side, but was taken away by the stream before he could reach the cubs.
Tears welled up in both Kuoni's and Nivio's eyes as they watched the fight with horror. Nivio forced himself to say: "Kuoni, we can't help her. We've got to get out of here!"
Kuoni turned to face him. "But they'll kill her!" he sobbed.
"They'll kill us, too, if we don't get out of here!" Nivio weakly replied. "Come on."
And with that, the two of them ran, ran as fast as they could, tears in their eyes.
About one hour later, miles away from the scene of the fight, there they lay: A tan-colored lion cub and a golden cheetah cub, cuddled up closely to one another, under a fallen tree, crying in each other's fur. All of a sudden, they had lost everything they had: Their home, their hopes, their mother. To Nivio, Nakemi had almost become like a real mother. But now, he and Kuoni were all alone. With a desperate sob, Nivio looked up at the sky, where the sun was shining as if nothing bad had ever happened, at the highest point… in the South…
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AUTHOR'S NOTE – Well, I hope you liked this chapter. I'm not very content with the ending, but I didn't want to rewrite it and let you wait any longer. And there's no way of getting a better ending to this chapter anyways. I'm very sad myself about Nakemi's death, but I'm afraid this is how the story goes. Jackals? You might ask. Well, it can't always be the hyenas, right? When I first planned the story, there were going to be hyenas in this scene, but I thought I had to come up with something else. Anyways, I can't tell you when the next chapter will be published. I will see to it that it won't be that long to wait this time. I sure wish I could finish the story this year, but I can't promise that. Be patient. I hope you'll still bear with me and won't write flaming reviews. Bye for now & take care!